


Shimmering Sunrise

by melancholywhite



Series: Shining Sunshine [3]
Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Parents, Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 06:48:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18277988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholywhite/pseuds/melancholywhite
Summary: Various (self-indulgent) side stories and extras ofShining Sunshine.





	Shimmering Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> These will be posted without a set schedule and they are mostly unedited, but please enjoy!

i. mothers

"Taeminnie," Jongin greets him from the other end of the line as soon as Taemin picks up, before he even had the chance to say anything into the phone. "Are you at work?"

"Yeah," he answers rather easily, even though he's not really doing anything.

Today, Taemin has been sitting in his office for about four hours, bored out of his mind because he doesn't have much to do. Sure, there were some papers to sign, and some people to call and check in on. Aside from that, however, his schedule has gotten so relaxed after the summer tour kicked off. That's what happens when he doesn't personally join the tour—he gets to sit nicely in his office, 'brainstorming' for the next season, when in actuality he has nothing to do.

"That's great." Over the phone, Jongin sighs in relief. "Do you have time right now? Can you leave?"

The urgency in Jongin's tone alerts him, making him think that something may have gone wrong. "Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No—well, kind of?" Jongin's voice turns hesitant, as if he was reluctant to admit something. "I just… need someone to go and pick up Jiyeon from my mom's. Right now."

Taemin frowns, vaguely recalling a conversation the two of them had a couple days ago, about Jongin's mother only being available to babysit for half a day. They even had a disagreement about it—he told Jongin that he could just drop Jiyeon off at the daycare in the morning, but Jongin _insisted_ to bring her to his mother—and this matter was only resolved because Jongin promised to take her before his mother had to leave.

"I thought you were going to take her," his tone sounds a little accusatory, but it doesn't really matter. "You got stuck at work, didn't you?"

The dance camp at Jongin's studio is now in full swing, so schedule changes are bound to happen. This is exactly why he suggested bringing Jiyeon to the daycare in the first place—so he could pick her up on his way home from work without bothering Jongin—but _someone_ insisted on being a stubborn mule.

"I know. I'm sorry," Jongin apologizes, probably recalling the same argument, knowing what he's thinking. "If you can't do it, I'll send an assistant to bring her here instead."

Taemin pauses, and eventually lets out a sigh. "No, it's fine. I'll go."

It's not like he has a lot of things to do anyway. Besides, Jiyeon can get very shy in front of people she isn't familiar with, and it's better to pick her up himself than have someone carry her to Jongin's studio crying.

"That's great," Jongin says, the relief in his tone obvious. "You know the address, right?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been there in a while," he answers as he scours his memory for directions to Jongin's family's house. "I still know where to go, but just send it to me. Just in case."

"Okay. I'll text you," Jongin promptly decides, and Taemin hums to let him know he's listening. "Thanks, Taemin-ah. I love you."

Taemin may be a little annoyed—honestly, if Jongin had just listened to him the first time, this wouldn't have happened—but he still can't help but smile when he hears Jongin's very sincere-sounding _I love you._

"I love you too," he replies, and Jongin hangs up right after.

A few seconds later, his phone buzzes with a text, containing the street address for Jongin's family's house.

 _You can bring her here if you want, or just bring her home,_ Jongin's next text says. _Thanks again I love you so much._

Taemin types a quick _no problem, see you later_ before he puts down his phone. He shuts down his computer, and packs up a couple of papers and other things so he could work at home—well, _Jongin's_ home, because he spends pretty much half of his day over there nowadays.

While putting the papers inside a clear folder, he suddenly realizes something important. _Very_ important. It's so important that it made his whole body stiffen.

This will be the first time he meets Jongin's mother… after he and Jongin started dating.

They are no longer _just friends,_ and even though Jongin's mother practically raised him too, considering how often he slept over at their house when they were little, this is still technically a meet-the-parents situation.

Random nerve-wracking scenarios pop up in his head as he leaves his office and heads to the parking lot. He imagines Jongin's mother kicking him out of the house, and imagines her telling him off, not letting him be anywhere near Jiyeon—although none of the things he imagines make any sense, because of one very simple reason: Jongin's mother _adores_ him.

She has always had a soft spot for him, and she would never kick him out of her house—or maybe she will, but only because she has to go somewhere, not because he is dating her son. In fact, it's more likely that she would give him her key, and tell them to stay there to watch the house until she comes back for dinner, or something like that.

Maybe. He doesn't really know. He did hear, once, that Jongin's mother usually changed her attitude in front of the girls Jongin dated. It was truly unimaginable at the time, because Jongin's mother had always been the sweetest second mother to him, but now he's nervous.

Jongin's family's house isn't very far; within fifteen minutes he's already pulling up in front of the house, parking his car at the side of the street. Nostalgia surges through him at the sight of the cozy-looking house, greeting him as he gets out of his car. He hasn't been here in so long. The last time was probably Christmas four years ago, a day that now feels like a completely different time.

That doesn't mean he hasn't seen Jongin's mother in four years, though. His own mother meets up with her on a regular basis, and they came to see one of his company's productions together a few months ago—although that was still before he and Jongin got together.

Despite the effort he put into convincing himself that _this is just Jongin's mom, not some stranger you've never met,_ his hand still trembles as he raises it to ring the bell outside the gate.

Taemin knows that there is literally nothing to be nervous about—he knows her, she knows him, they both know each other very well—but he just can't help it. The stakes are different, now. He might have to leave Jongin if his mother hates him, but he doesn't _want_ to let go, not after he finally got everything he always dreamed of.

His thoughts are interrupted by the crackle of a speaker, and his heart skips a beat, while his palms are getting cold and sweaty.

"Yes—oh, if it isn't Taeminnie!"

Jongin's mother's voice soon greets him from the intercom, and the brightness of her tone immediately dispels all of his nerves. He smiles as he looks into the camera right above the bell, and waves.

"Hi there, auntie."

"Wait a second, Taeminnie. I'll open the gate," Jongin's mother says, her voice still sweet and kind. He hopes it will keep staying that way, even after she finds out.

With her words, the intercom shuts off and the front gate buzzes, indicating that it's open. He pushes it inwards and walks in, following the short flower-lined pathway to the front door—which opens loudly before he even gets there.

"Daddy!!!"

A tiny bundle of energy wearing a pink bear-printed t-shirt appears from behind the door, screaming in delight. Jiyeon runs toward him with a large smile, her eyes blown wide open and her arms reaching out for him. Without much thinking, he bends down to pick her up, taking her into his arms and spinning her around once, making her giggle happily. Doing this is pretty much a habit by now, and for a moment, he forgets where he is. He forgets that he's currently in Jongin's family's house, that he's carrying Jongin's daughter, and that this daughter just referred to him, Taemin, as her _father._

It takes him a moment to finally spot Jongin's mother at her door, waving at him with an understanding smile—and embarrassment immediately creeps up to his cheeks. He puts Jiyeon down and takes her hand, leading her back to the door.

"Oh, so our Taeminnie still remembers to visit this old lady," Jongin's mother teases as she steps forward to give him a warm hug, just like always. "I thought you forgot about me already."

Taemin chuckles and hugs her back. "Sorry, auntie. Have you been doing well?"

"Of course I have! Recently, I got another cute baby granddaughter to play with," she grins as she pulls away and leads them inside the house. "Jiyeonnie is just like you and Nini when you were younger. It really brings me back to the old days."

Taemin laughs. "Is that good or bad?"

"A bit of both, probably," Jongin's mother joins him in his laughter, her eyes crinkling. "But she's growing up fast, and she's a very nice little girl. You two are great parents."

"Oh… Thank you," he says. It takes him a while to register that Jongin's mother referred to him and Jongin as a pair—as Jiyeon's _parents._ Both of them. Not just Jongin. He adds, "I'm not technically her parent, though."

"You're raising her, so it counts," Jongin's mother smiles, and pats his shoulder. "Besides, once you marry our Nini, she will be your daughter too. It's just a matter of time."

Taemin almost chokes.

"Speaking of which, have you told your mother yet?" Jongin's mother keeps talking, not noticing Taemin's shock and distress. "I really want to start planning the wedding, but Nini told me not to talk to her about it until you've told her yourself. I have so many ideas, Taeminnie, and you must know that these things take time, so you should—"

"Uh," Taemin voices, cutting her off. "Auntie… You already know?"

Jongin's mother raises her eyebrow. She really looks like Jongin whenever she does this—Taemin can clearly see the resemblance.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I know?"

The answer flusters Taemin, and he starts blinking rapidly. "Um. I just— I didn't know that Jongin already told you. It hasn't been that long since we started… you know."

"It's really not that hard to figure out, Taeminnie. I knew he was dating you the moment he came home and asked for cooking tips," Jongin's mother chuckles, her eyes softening. "He never does that, as you probably know. That's how I figured out that this person must be _very_ special—and I can't think of anyone else he considers that special, besides you."

Jongin's mother brings them to sit down in the living room. As soon as he takes a seat on the couch, Jiyeon climbs over to sit on his lap, a very sweet grin on her face.

"He could've been asking how to cook for Jiyeon," Taemin makes an excuse, although his face is heating up. "He does all the cooking nowadays, so that would make more sense."

"Nonsense. Why would he cook up some romantic dinner for a toddler?" Jongin's mother shakes her head. "Be honest with me, Taeminnie. He cooked for you, didn't he?"

Taemin blinks, and looks away from her teasing gaze. "...He did."

"And it was delicious?"

"Very delicious."

"Thank goodness," Jongin's mother laughs. "We were his guinea pigs for a while, and let me tell you—they weren't _always_ very delicious."

"Oh…"

Taemin doesn't know how to respond to that. He can't even imagine the hell Jongin's family had to go through, tasting his horrible cooking over and over, then having to teach him to make it actually taste good. Taemin himself has had an experience with one of Jongin's magical cooking—those burnt eggs from college had completely traumatized him until just a few months earlier.

"You should tell your mother soon, Taeminnie. She has been worrying about you for a long time, now," Jongin's mother says, almost out of nowhere, pulling him away from his own thoughts. "We talked about you and Nini a lot; we know how long you've loved and supported him even without getting anything in return."

Taemin looks up from where he has been absently focusing on playing with Jiyeon's hair. Suddenly, his eyes feel a little watery, because—

"You… You noticed that, too?"

Jongin's mother nods with a kind smile, and now Taemin really feels like crying. He knew he had never actively tried to hide his feelings for Jongin, and pretty much everybody knew how important Jongin is to him—but he never thought that even his and Jongin's _parents_ were aware about it. It's so embarrassing.

"I thought that you would just end up choosing somebody else, but you never did. Your mother and I could never agree on whether you were extremely loyal, or just… well, a little stupid," she says, before taking a frustrated tone. "Honestly, you've always been too good to Nini. Sometimes even I can't believe I raised that kid. He took so many years to figure out something so simple, just because he doesn't listen to me when I tell him about his four-year-old self."

Taemin raises an eyebrow. His mind tries to flip through memories of when they were four years old, but all he can remember is sharing his banana milk with Jongin because he was crying in the middle of a playground. No matter how hard he tries to remember, he can't figure out what the significance of the four-year-old Jongin is to this story.

Jongin's mother is still talking, and Taemin's focus shifts again. "But I'm _so_ glad that Nini finally came to his senses, after so many years—otherwise, who knows if the ideal son-in-law I've carefully raised would have ended up entering someone else's family?"

Taemin catches the keywords and lets out a cough.

"I'm your ideal son-in-law?" he says lightheartedly, making her laugh.

"Of course. Didn't you know that Nini used to tell me to let him marry you when he grew up?" she adds, laughing. "He was just four years old, and it was so cute, really. Whenever your mother picked you up and brought you home, or the other way around, he always tells me that when you're both big boys he will marry you, so you can stay together forever."

_Ah._

_That's it._

"...I didn't know that," he says after a pause, a little taken aback. "I… He used to say things like that?"

"I knew he would never tell you, that boy. He said so many cute things, though! At one point I even noticed that he secretly referred to his teddy bear as his and 'Minnie's' baby," she shakes her head, laughing, while Taemin feels his fingers curling, unable to imagine such a cute sight. "But now I've told you, and now you know how long I've seen this coming."

"Thanks for telling me, Auntie," he says, a sly smile finding its way to his face. "I'm definitely putting this information to good use."

"Tell me how Nini reacts when he finds out that you know," Jongin's mother smiles conspiratorially. "Wait, but how many years would it take until he figures this one out?"

Both of them laugh at the small joke, and Jiyeon looks up at them, probably not knowing why they're laughing. But _then,_ Jiyeon starts laughing too, and of course he and Jongin's mom would coo at how beautiful her smile is. After that, the rest is history—they end up chatting for another half hour, catching up, until Jongin's mother truly does have to leave the house, so he takes Jiyeon and bide farewell to the woman who is pretty much his second mother.

Jiyeon skips all the way to the gate, until she stops in front of the car.

"Jiyeonnie, do you want to go see Daddy, or go home?" Taemin asks, lifting the little girl up to put her in her car seat.

"Daddy!" she chimes, without even pretending to think. She throws her arms up in the air and waves them. "Go Daddy!"

"Okay, okay," Taemin chuckles at her antics. He gets into the car, taking a quick look at the cheering toddler behind him, still chanting 'Daddy!' over and over. "So we'll go to see Daddy now. Ready?"

"Yea!"

 


End file.
